Way back in the late 1970's, maybe it was 1977... maybe a little earlier, could be later... I'm not sure, but way back around there Ginger ate a Granny Smith Apple and put the seeds in a small pot that had once contained a live plant. Against all odds a sprout emerged. That sprout struggled to survive the environment of a small pot and trying to live in an office. Sometimes getting water and sometimes not. The little pot that served for years finally gave way to a bigger pot and years after that to another pot bigger still, maybe a 12 inch pot.
The tree was probably 9 or 10 years old before it even started to look like a tree. It pretty much looked like a 36 inch stem with a few leaves along the way. By the time the tree was about 15 years old it looked like a tree and, as I recall, had produced a single apple.
In 1995 Ginger and I moved to Texas and, of course, took our Granny Smith Apple Tree with us. Once situated in Texas we re-potted the tree to a much larger pot and left it on our deck. The tree seemed happy and with enough room to spread it's roots a bit it grew and also produced apples every year. Granny Smith was pretty small for a tree. Larger than a bonsai tree but nothing like a regular apple tree... about three or four feet tall from the soil line to the tallest branch.
In 2004 we moved to Grand Junction... the tree of us. When we moved into our current home we decided to actually plant Granny Smith in the ground.... kind of like putting an old stallion out to pasture. Granny loved her new home and grew to probably 5 feet or so and was producing apples every year. The apples were on the small side and usually pretty bitter but we enjoyed them.
This summer Granny started shedding leaves on one side. One of her branches died and we cut it off with the hopes that she would be OK. Later more branches died. Now Granny is only half the tree she used to be and we believe she is destined for the compost pile.
We'll let her die a natural death as you would afford your own Granny. When her time has come we will take her to the compost site and she can help some other plants make our world a nicer place.
3 comments:
Is it the struggle that keeps you going? and when it becomes too easy then what is the purpose anymore? One needs a personal goal... Hmm... it sounds like Granny is human. I'm glad you're back!! Janine
'Ol Granny Smith certainly is not thought of as human but is loved as much as your dog or cat. Heck, I once had a dog that brought home a rainbow trout. I had many cats that brought home birds and mice. I didn't eat the trout, mice or birds. I did eat the Granny Smith Apples. She was just a prize like a piece of furniture you love or your wedding ring... not so much the thing but what it represents.
You know, Dad, you misinterpretted what I was saying and all this time have thought ill of my comment and thoughts about what is important to you. I was trying to point out that the tree had spent all its life struggling to survive and better itself (suvival is a stronge pupose). Then finally life became a bit easier (getting moved outside with lots of sunshine and plenty of room to spread its roots). It didn't have to concentrate so hard any longer and the skills of growth became too lax. I was pointing out that it sounded human (everybody needs a goal to make life worth living). When things are easy then what motivates people? or trees in this case. What a shame you thought I was without empathy. Hope this helped clear up what my intentions were. You really through me for a loop when you were talking about this at Kirk's and I sounded callous. I'm sorry for your loss of Granny. Janine
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